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Utah may be ranked No. 20 in the latest AP poll, but there are a couple of areas where the Utes rank No. 1 in college football's metrics. One of them: They are the best in the country at … special teams.

Stop. Don't bail for that other story guessing who the starting quarterback will be. This third-phase thing is a lot more important than you think.

Not only are Utah's special teams ranked first this season, according to analytics concocted by ESPN, they are the best college special teams since the 2004 Miami Hurricanes. In that formula, ESPN evaluates all aspects of special teams, including context for their performances, such as down and distance, yards from the end zone, time on the clock, and it totals contributing points. Ute special teams are adding 7.8 points a game to their scoring margin.

All told, kicker Andy Phillips and returner Kaelin Clay have combined for 78 points this season.

Translation: Phillips, punter Tom Hackett and Clay are really good. Think about the number of times Hackett has pinned opponents inside their own 10-yard line with accurately angled punts. He's rolled 13 out inside the 20. Opponents are averaging 3.3 yards on punt returns. The Utes get 19.1. Phillips is 10 of 12 on field goal attempts. And Clay has four touchdowns via returns, three of them on punts. He's the only one in college football to accomplish that. That's all big. And it will go on being big, especially in close games.

"It's awesome," said Phillips, who hit a game-winning field goal against UCLA. "I think a lot of teams overlook the importance of their special teams. … We've done a good job so far. It's just evidence, I guess, of the hard work we've put in in the offseason and during the season to get it right."

Usually, when coaches talk special teams, about the importance of all three phases, everybody punches up a pillow. Everybody kind of pretends to listen, bobbing heads up and down, but nobody actually does. Typically, the advice here would be this: Don't even bring it up. That's the rule I've always lived by.

On account of what's going on with the Utes, I broke my own rule the other day and raised the subject with a coach, who doesn't work for Utah football. He nearly spun himself into an ecstatic state. It was like chucking a biscuit in the air to Muttley the Dog, and watching him float back down to earth.

He went on and on about players keeping their lanes, about coverages to the left and to the right, about setting up a wall and making sure the return man got to that wall, about the composition of kickoff teams and punt teams and how coaches vary in their preferences for what kind of players best make up those units. It was a half-hour conversation.

I got less from Kyle Whittingham, who not only is Utah's head coach, but also the coach of the Utes special teams. He said he organizes the effort, but that his assistants handle many of the specifics. No matter, the fact that the head coach also coaches special teams is a loud statement, symbolizing that the third phase is a priority. It's not some afterthought, reserved for nonstarters meant to reward them with a small favor of playing time for practicing hard all week.

It loses and wins games.

"The biggest factor is the talent level we've got," Whittingham said. "We've got an excellent kicker in Andy Phillips. Tom Hackett is one of the nation's best punters. Kaelin Clay is one of the nation's best return men. And outside of that, we've got all the guys, the supporting cast, buying into what we do. Clay has returned four kicks for touchdowns, but it's not all Kaelin Clay. It's guys working their tails off to block for him and creating space so we can make that happen. With Andy and Tom, they're just very talented at what they do and that whole thing has added up to some pretty good special teams play."

Whittingham tagged himself the "point person" in coaching the special teams, chopping up responsibility for its individual parts among his assistants. "It's a collaborative effort," he said. "I'm the guy responsible to give it structure."

Kickers often are looked at as quirky and weird, punters are considered unathletic, something other than real football players. But in the case of Phillips and Hackett, they are respected parts of the team.

And they are appreciated.

"Special teams? We love 'em," said receiver Dres Anderson. "It's so exciting to have a great punt-return team, great kickoff-return team. They always give us great field position. It's always great for the offense, to see where we're going to start from now."

Talking about Hackett, Anderson said: "It's unbelievable. I don't know how he does it, kicking it out at the 5 or the 10. It's truly a talent — and it benefits our team so much. It puts our offense and defense in great positions."

And Phillips? "He's automatic. He's been automatic for two years now."

The kicker who once was a top-level skier said the most important aspect to him doing his job, what he did on the game-winner at the Rose Bowl, is this: "It's just the mindset that every kick has to be the same, no matter the situation. You can get too caught up in the emotions of the game: What happens if I make this? What happens if I miss this? To me, it was just another kick."

He admitted, though, he's lying to himself.

Against UCLA, Hackett was huge in giving the Utes advantageous field position, at times changing the complexion of the game. One of those punts set up a pick-6 deep in Bruins territory.

As for Clay, he's proved to be a scoring threat whenever he touches the ball. He's contributed some of the most electrifying moments of Utah's season thus far.

"It's a huge thing," said cornerback Eric Rowe. "It all impacts the game. It's a huge momentum gainer. It boosts the energy on the sideline for the whole team. We know not very many teams have a returner, a punter, a kicker and a snapper, too, Chase [Dominguez] is flawless with his snaps. We take a lot of pride in it. Everyone has bought into it. And it shows on the field."

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 and 960 AM.